Aru beats Froome in first mountain stage

Thursday

Jul 6, 2017 at 4:00 AM

By JOHN LEICESTER and ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writers

CHAMPAGNEY, France -- Italy's Fabio Aru accelerated away from three-time champion Chris Froome and other top contenders on the first mountain climb of this year's Tour de France, winning Stage 5 on Wednesday and showing he could be the man to beat to the finish in Paris.

Froome still rode well enough up the steep ascent to the Planche des Belles Filles ski station to take the overall race lead and its yellow jersey from teammate Geraint Thomas, who couldn't stay with the leaders on a climb made doubly punishing by searing summer temperatures.

But it was Aru who impressed with his fierce burst of speed that left everyone in his wake with more than 2 kilometers (1 1/2 miles) left to climb. Wearing his Italian national champion's jersey of green, white and red, Aru rose out of his saddle and rocked powerfully from side to side as he ate up the mountain.

"It's extraordinary for me to win this stage," said the 26-year-old rider for the Astana team who was devastated to miss the Giro d'Italia with an injured knee this year.

"I'm someone who prefers to maintain a low profile. It's not necessary to say that I'm extremely happy. A victory in the Tour is something fantastic after difficult months with my injury," said Aru.

Dan Martin of the Quickstep team was second to the top, surprising Froome with his own burst of speed on a very steep section toward the end. Froome came in third -- made painfully aware by the climb that the Tour could be harder than ever to win this year, and that he can't afford to let Aru get away again.

"This is going to be the hardest-fought battle I've had," he said. "We definitely cannot give Fabio that kind of space again."

When Aru powered away, lucid enough despite the effort to yell at a roadside spectator who got too close to him and to toss a water bottle at the feet of another, Froome and other top contenders didn't react.

"When he left, I stayed with my team and waited for the attack from the others," Froome said. "But no one moved. I thought, 'OK, I have to go, what can I do?'"

Although Froome subsequently upped his tempo, leaving his teammate Thomas behind, it was already too late: Aru was gone.

"There's a flat before the last climb and perhaps we waited too long there," Froome said.

Getting the yellow jersey was some consolation. Froome has a 12-second lead over Thomas. Aru jumped from 25th to third in the overall standings, 14 seconds behind the reigning champion for Team Sky.

The last person to win at the Planches des Belles Filles, Vincenzo Nibali in 2014, also was Italian and went on to win the Tour that year.

The 5.9-kilometer (3.1-mile) climb to an altitude of 1,035 meters (3,395 feet) isn't as monstrous as those to come in the Pyrenees and Alps. But its hairpins cutting through dense pine forests and steep sections lined by cheering fans were still punishing enough to give an early indication of the strongest riders this year.

"We got a little preview of just where everyone's at in terms of their condition," Froome said. But the Briton advised against jumping too quickly to conclusions on the basis of this first climb.

"It's still very open, we've got a lot of racing ahead of us."

Aru, a two-time podium finisher at the Tour of Italy and winner of the 2015 Tour of Spain, was bitterly disappointed to have missed this year's Giro, which started from his home island of Sardinia. He injured a knee in a training crash but is back with a bang at the Tour, which ends on July 23.

"Only my family and the people close to me know what I went through," he said. "Having the Giro in Sardinia is not something that happens every year. Fortunately, my home fans embraced me anyhow and I was able to focus on the Tour immediately."